It’s been a busy year thus far for O&P public policy. The impending implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has stimulated a flurry of advocacy efforts to ensure that O&P services are covered benefits throughout the new insurance exchanges, set to go live on January 1, 2014. Legislation is being prepared, and some bills have already been introduced in the 113th Congress to address O&P coverage and access to care provided by qualified providers. The Medicare program has dramatically increased scrutiny of covering advanced prosthetic technology, creating a chilling effect on prosthetic prescription throughout the healthcare system. Meanwhile, the public awareness of prosthetics, in particular, has never been higher, due, in part, to technological advancements that have attracted media attention. And the continuing flow of wounded warriors, coupled with the tragic bombings in Boston, Massachusetts, has kept medical rehabilitation and prosthetic care on the front pages of newspapers across the country.
